Improvement in farm gates



No. A63,757.

M2 A E -llll4 mi@ atten taire aient ffirr.

ELIJAH, C. SEARS, OF CRYSTAL LAKE, ILLINOIS.

Let/ers Patent lVo. 63,757, dated April 9, 1867.

IMPROVEMENT IN FARM GATES.

TO ALL WHOM I'll MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, ELIJAH C. SEARS, of Crystal Lake, in the county of Henry, and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement inFaam Grate; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will cnableothers skilled in the art to make and use the saine, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in whieh- Figure I is a side view of a fence with my improved gate suspended to it.

Figure 2 is a vertical cross-section taken in the line 1I x, fig. l.

Figure 3 is a. vertical cross-section taken in the line y y, fig. l.

Siinilarletters of reference indicate like parts.

This invention relates to an improvement in the construction of farm gates for board fences, which, instead of swinging on hinges, slide on rollers and guides for opening and closing. It is very simple and cheap in its construction, and works Well at all seasons of the year, not being obstructed by snow and ice on the ground, which often prevent swing-gates from opening and closing freely.

A represents a panel of a board fence;-B the gate attached to it. The gate B is made of four or any desirable number of boards like those of which the fence A 'is made. The gate is made about fifteen feet long. The boards are fastened by cleats or upright cross-bars, also made of the same plank, properly bolted together, the cleat a on the front end of the gate-being placedA on the outside, and the rear cleat b being placed on the `inside of the gate, as shown in fig. 1. -One or more intermediate cleats, c, can be fastened ou the gate to stiffen and strengthen it, as desired. The cleat b at the rear end of thegate projects about three inches above the top board [Z of the fence A. On the inside of this cleat, next the fence, is bolted securely a double iron guide, e, which is turned over top and bottom, so that the upper end hooks over the upper edge of the board d, and the lower end hooks over the lower edge of the same board in such manner that the hooked ends can more freely on the inside of the board and act as a guide to clasp and hold the gate close to the fence'when it` slides back and forth to open and shut. This double guide e contains a friction-roller on each end, the upper roller g resting on the upper edge of the hoard 0 2, and the lower roller gl bearing up against the lower edge of the board tl, by which arrangement-of the rollers the rear end of the gate is supported, and will travel readily to and fro upon the board d. In order that the guide c may pass the centre post h in the panel of the fence A, a notch, z', is eut lin the inside ofthe post, as shown in iig. 3. An upright board cleat, lc, is fastened on outside of the fence over the front post of the panel A, having single guides at bottoni and top. lhe upl er guide m hooks over the edge of the upper board of the gate, and bears directly upon it, while the lower guide m' hooks over the lower board of the gate and carries a roller, g2, ouwhich the lower edge of the board'rests, as shown in figs. I and 2. l By this arrangement of the guides and friction-rollers it is obvious that the gate `Iamay be easily' moved backward and forward on the panel 0f fence A for opening and closing; and as the gate isV made fifteen feet long, when it is closed, ten feet o r two-thirds of its length only will move out to fill Vthe ordinary gate entrance, and flve feet will remain on the panel of fence. to balance andsupport the gate. It will be'limited in its Inovement by any suitable catch.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, 'and desire to secure by Letters4 Patent, is-

1. In the Vconstruction of aboard gate, I claim the arrangement of the double guide e and the frictionrollersgf/l, in the rear cleat b, in combination'with the upper board dof the fenceA, operating as herein described.

2. I also claim the single guides m m at the top and bottom of the cleat c, in combination with the roller gg and the upper and lower boards of the gate B, arranged and operating as herein set forth.

3. I also claim the notch z' in the centre-post t, to' clear the double guide e when the gate is opened or closed, as herein described. l

ELIJAH C. SEARS.

Witnesses:

S. R. SHoEMAKEn, A. K. NAsH. 

